Unisex name · since 1908
Palmer
9,389 babies named Palmer in U.S. Social Security records since 1908, with the highest year being 2025. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,752 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #232 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 9,389
- born since 1908
- 2020s
- peak decade
9,389 babies have been named Palmer since 1908, making it today's #232 unisex name.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Palmer has been recorded 9,389 times among girls since 1908, currently ranked #232 nationally and more common than 99% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 2020s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1908 to 2025.
- #1,752 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #232 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 9,389 born since 1908
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Palmer ranks #1,752 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #232 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 9,389 born since 1908, peaking in the 2020s.
- #1,752 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #232 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 9,389
- born since 1908
- 2020s
- peak decade
Palmer's 9,389 recorded births place it above 97.57% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
44 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Palmer compares
9,389 Top 10% higher than 90% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Palmer's all-time total is 25x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Palmer | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 9,389 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 1,330 | 21 | 19,840 |
Palmer's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Palmer's full recorded timeline at 1986, 97% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 3% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1910, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2025 peak of 1,330 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Palmer popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1908–2025
- Peak year (2025)
- 1,330
- Annual births at peak, across 118 years of records
Palmer popularity over time - boys
9,264 total births recorded since 1880 (Palmer as boys' name)
Palmer by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (6,646 births, 71% of the file).
2020s was Palmer's strongest decade.
6,646 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 71% of all-time use.
Palmer births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1900s 7
1900s
7 births
- 1910s 45
1910s
45 births
- 1920s 54
1920s
54 births
- 1930s 20
1930s
20 births
- 1940s 31
1940s
31 births
- 1950s 45
1950s
45 births
- 1960s 38
1960s
38 births
- 1980s 18
1980s
18 births
- 1990s 61
1990s
61 births
- 2000s 128
2000s
128 births
- 2010s 2,296
2010s
2,296 births
- 2020s
2020s
6,646 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 6,646 births (71% of all-time use).
How Palmer compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Palmer's total volume
Palmer by state
Where Palmer concentrates geographically, total births since 1908
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 936 | 10.0% |
| #2 | Florida | | 596 | 6.3% |
| #3 | Georgia | | 513 | 5.5% |
| #4 | North Carolina | | 466 | 5.0% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 458 | 4.9% |
| #6 | Tennessee | | 407 | 4.3% |
| #7 | California | | 340 | 3.6% |
| #8 | Illinois | | 293 | 3.1% |
936 of 9,389 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 44 reporting states.
Palmer appears in 44 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Palmer? ▼
Where does Palmer sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Palmer most popular? ▼
Where is Palmer most popular? ▼
Is Palmer a unisex name? ▼
How long has the name Palmer been used? ▼
What names are similar to Palmer? ▼
What to do with Palmer's data
- Texas records the most Palmers (936 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Palmer
Nearby Names Like Palmer
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Palmer
Compare Palmer side by side: Palmer vs Paloma Palmer vs Palma Palmer vs Palmira
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Palmer
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Palmer: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2025)
Similar record span (~117 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1908–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Palmer draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.